The Southern Conference men’s basketball tournament tips off on Friday, and one of 10 participants will earn a ticket to the Big Dance. We’ll take a look at all of the pertinent 2023 SoCon Tournament odds (courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook), schedule, and how you can watch. It all begins on March 3, but Furman — the favorite to win the tournament — won’t take the court until Saturday.
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SoCon Tournament Odds
Tournament Notes
As previously noted, Bob Richey’s bunch is +120 to advance to March Madness. That’s good for a 45.45% implied probability. The Paladins will look to avenge their result in last season’s conference tournament, falling at the final horn to Chattanooga.
Furman boasts one of the most cohesive units across college basketball. Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson, its two leading scorers, have both been with the program for five seasons. They propel the 34th-rated adjusted offensive efficiency (per KenPom). The 6-foot-7 Slawson represents the premier two-way player between them, notching a top-60 true shooting percentage, top-120 block rate, and top-290 steal percentage nationally.
Richey’s five-out offense operates mostly in transition while generating the eighth-highest catch-and-shoot 3-point rate (via ShotQuality). The Paladins’ defensive struggles revolve around the latter category.
Despite possessing the No. 3 overall seed, UNC Greensboro is up next on the odds board. The two teams split their regular season series, with the Spartans tallying an overtime victory on Jan. 14. Mike Jones’ crew owns the 50th-ranked adjusted defensive efficiency in D-I, forcing the highest turnover percentage in conference play. The 6-foot-1 Keyshaun Langley is the instigator in that regard, manufacturing the 82nd-highest steal rate nationally.
But similar to Furman, UNC Greensboro’s biggest defensive liability lies on the perimeter, letting up the 46th-highest 3-point scoring rate. That’s a concern against both the Paladins and No. 2 seed Bulldogs. Samford guard Bubba Parham and his teammates jack up the 22nd-most shots from behind the arc per game.
The Bulldogs swept the Spartans in 2023, yet they dropped each of their matchups with Furman, including the regular season finale on Feb. 23. That result handed the Paladins the SoCon regular season title.
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SoCon Tournament Schedule
- First Round: Friday, March 3
- Quarterfinals: Saturday, March 4
- Semifinals: Sunday, March 5
- SoCon Championship: Monday, March 6
How To Watch
The first two rounds are available for viewing on the ESPN+ streaming platform. On March 5, viewers can catch the SoCon tournament semifinals on a pair of ESPN networks. The title game will be shown on ESPN — March 6 at 7 p.m. ET.
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